The Campaign to Preserve the Cordoba Mosque

Dear Sirs,

The Mosque, or Mezquita, of Cordoba in Spain is a building of immense architectural, cultural and religious significance. Since the reign of Charles V in the 16th Century, it has been consistantly converted into a Cathedral, and the addition of extra chapels, icons and tombs continues to this day. Whereas the Cathedral sections are undergoing expensive restoration projects on a large scale, what remains of the Mosque has been sorely neglected and it continues to be built into by the Cathedral expansion. Arches are still being blocked up to make back-drops for chapels, as was done most recently for the Millennium celebrations. This is despite its having been declared a World Heritage Site in 1985.

This Petition seeks to save the Mosque of Cordoba from any further such building projects, which only serve to destabilise the structure of the whole complex and which desecrate a sacred Islamic building as well as a Spanish, and World, cultural heritage site.

The undersigned call for three things:

1. That the Mosque of Cordoba should be protected as a UNESCO cultural heritage site; that it should be recognised as a place of worship for Muslims as well as for Christians, and that UNESCO should provide for its future preservation.

2. That the continuing building of further chapels into the Mosque areas should be stopped, along with any other desecration of the building.

3. That an area should be set aside in the Mihrab section for visiting Muslims to be allowed to pray, in what is still viewed by many as a place of pilgrimage.

Some 15 years ago, the then Bishop of Seville granted a group of Muslims the right to pray the Eid prayer in the Mosque of Cordoba. By direct order of the Pope it was decided that this should never be allowed to happen again. In 2002, during a Muslim Women's Conference in the city, the security guards used batons against the women who tried to pray there, and many others were arrested.

Yet at the same time both Pope John Paul II and the King of Spain have set up plaques inside the "Mosque-Cathedral" proclaiming the building to be a symbol of tolerance between two religions that believe in the same God. We, the undersigned, would like to take them at their word and request that a facility be made for Muslims to be able to use at least a small corner for prayer purposes, and that the desecration of the Mosque areas should cease.

This Petition will be sent to UNESCO, Pope John Paul II, and the King of Spain declaring these simple requests.